Jean Quan off to rocky start as Oakland mayor

Published 4:00 am, Friday, January 14, 2011

Image 1of/3

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 3

Image 2 of 3

Mayor Jean Quan (center), her husband Floyd Huen, M.D. (second from left), and their children William (second from right) and daughter Lailan (right) talk to people gathered in front of the Fox Oakland Theater along with California State Assemblymember Sandre Swanson (left) before Mayor Quan's Inauguration ceremony on Monday, January 3, 2011 in Oakland, Calif. less

Mayor Jean Quan (center), her husband Floyd Huen, M.D. (second from left), and their children William (second from right) and daughter Lailan (right) talk to people gathered in front of the Fox Oakland Theater ... more

Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

Image 3 of 3

Children peer out of a window at Lincoln Elementary School and try to get a view of Mayor Jean Quan (left) on a stop at the school during her Remembering & Making History Walk before her Inauguration ceremony on Monday, January 3, 2011 in Oakland, Calif. Lincoln Elementary School is Oakland's second oldest public school. less

Children peer out of a window at Lincoln Elementary School and try to get a view of Mayor Jean Quan (left) on a stop at the school during her Remembering & Making History Walk before her Inauguration ceremony ... more

Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

Jean Quan off to rocky start as Oakland mayor

1 / 3

Back to Gallery

The victor is relishing the win and spreading around the spoils. But she could be more magnanimous about it.

One of new Oakland Mayor Jean Quan's first orders of duty was to put up a nameplate bearing her name and the seal of the Office of the Mayor to claim a seat on the City Council dais.

And one of Council President Larry Reid's first duties - at the behest of unidentified council colleagues, he said - was to have it removed.

Reid said it was inappropriate for Quan, who is not a council member, to claim a seat in the chamber.

Quan said the issue is overblown.

"It's removable," she said Thursday in a briefing with reporters. "I'll put (the plaque) back when I'm there."

LATEST SFGATE VIDEOS

Make no mistake, the nameplate issue didn't help endear Quan to her former council colleagues, many of whom are angry at not being consulted about any of the appointments she's made.

Quan is going to need the council, or at least four of them, to accomplish her ambitious plan to turn around a blighted East Oakland neighborhood - and anything else on her agenda. She would be wise to proceed cautiously.

The nameplate mess isn't the only questionable move Quan has made in her first days as mayor.

Earlier this week, she named her longtime friend and personal attorney, Dan Siegel, as an unpaid adviser. That move raised eyebrows and could prompt a legal challenge from Oakland City Attorney John Russo's office.

Russo and Quan have been at loggerheads for years. As a council member, Quan several times attempted to hire outside attorneys simply to blunt Russo's participation. Her appointment of Siegel is another not-so-subtle swipe as his authority.

According to the mayor's office, Siegel will advise Quan on a variety of legal, public safety and civic issues. If there is a word to describe his role in Quan's new cabinet it would be consigliere, not unlike the legal adviser who spoke for the boss in the classic "Godfather" films. Badda bing. Badda boom.

Siegel, who one council member described as an "enemy combatant," is a frequent and vocal critic of city policies. Most recently, Siegel's law firm has challenged a gang injunction that bars known gang members from congregating in East Oakland areas they claim as territory.

"For those of us in Oakland who are working on crime policies that balance better intervention with stronger enforcement, this is a strange, confusing and demoralizing appointment," City Attorney John Russo said in a statement.

Siegel has promised to ease up on his advocacy.

"That's why this is a serious decision for me," he said Thursday. "I'm going to take off my hat as an advocate and put on my hat as an administrator. Despite the fact that I'm outspoken and people say I'm radical, I have both the skills and experience to work inside government."

And yet just three days ago, Siegel's office marched a group of Latino teens into council chambers to argue against enforcement of the gang injunction.

The mayor has the right to pick her circle of advisers, a group which includes some inspired choices, such as former Emeryville City Manager John Flores.

But she needs to be above political payback - and that means avoiding any decisions that could be interpreted that way.

The council's actions regarding Quan's newfound status were childish, but so are her transparent attempts to even the score with a political enemy.

The biggest mistake Quan could make would be to allow Siegel, who is despised by the Oakland Police Officers Association, to have any say in the management, operations or practices of the Police Department.

And if Quan continues to act unilaterally without input or participation from her colleagues and fails to seek legal advice from the city's top legal officer, she risks getting caught up in the unimportant details - like whether a nameplate is appropriate.

If that happens, Quan will find it difficult to near impossible to accomplish her most important goals.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.